CTM Chair McMillin to Snyder: Drop the concrete. Let’s debate.

UPDATE from Tom McMillin: I’ll be honest with you: when I first accepted the offer to become Chairman of Concerned Taxpayers of Michigan, my only hesitation was that I didn’t want to criticize the governor. I intended to keep focused on the policy issue and avoid the politics.

But seeing the governor holding a chunk of concrete, telling the people of Michigan that our lives and our families’ lives will be in danger if Proposal 1 is rejected… that  was too much for me.

The “Vote Yes or Die” campaign’s television ads are saying the same thing: raise taxes, or kids could be killed.

It’s obscene.

It’s unconscionable that the governor, who has a duty to protect the safety of Michigan families, is digging in his heels and refusing to work on any legislative alternative.

If indeed he believes children will die on our roads unless new money is dedicated to road repairs immediately, he has a moral obligation to work to ensure roads are funded one way or the other.

So why isn’t the governor discussing alternatives?

Perhaps it’s because any legislative alternative destroys the false choice being peddled by the “Vote Yes or Die” campaign: that it’s Proposal 1 or nothing.

But to go out and say to voters “your life will be in danger if you don’t approve these tax increases,” while he himself is opposing any other way to fix our roads, is just disturbing.

I’ve challenged the governor to have an adult conversation on this issue. I will debate him in any setting.  

But folks, the fact is, the lobbyists pushing for this proposal have deep pockets. There’s no question we’re being vastly outspent.

But we have the grassroots support, and we will prevail despite being outspent, if you can help us reach the critical voters across Michigan we have targeted.

The election is happening right now. Absentee ballots are already out. We have little time to reach voters before the election is over, but our message is getting out.

Original Press Release: Today, Concerned Taxpayers of Michigan chairman and former state representative Tom McMillin issued the following challenge to Governor Snyder:

“Governor Snyder, put the concrete boulders and scare tactics aside and let’s debate Proposal 1 – all 46,000 words that would be implemented. You name the place and time and  I’ll be there. But telling voters that they must either vote for this huge tax increase or people will die is not helpful. Let’s have an adult conversation.”

Governor Snyder has been seen recently, holding up a large chunk of concrete and claiming it may fly through citizens’ windshield any moment, especially if they vote “no” on the May 5 tax hike ballot proposal.

McMillin continued, “This is an extremely complicated proposal. Ten bills with 46,000 words would be implemented if voters approve Prop 1. In my six years in Lansing, I only saw scare tactics like this employed when good arguments for a proposal were non-existent. The governor should be willing to actually debate the merits of the proposal, in full. Not tell people to ‘vote yes or die’.”

McMillin concluded, “Lansing already has the money to fix the roads. They don’t need another $2 billion out of taxpayers’ pockets.  As a fellow CPA, I was excited when then-candidate Snyder in 2010 was promising to implement ‘Value for Money Budgeting’ if elected. To do so, would have meant that the state would focus on outcomes of taxpayer dollar spending and actually prioritize the $50+ billion annual budget. Unfortunately, four years later, Snyder hasn’t followed through on that promise. Now he wants to force Michigan families to reprioritize their diminished budget after a new, large tax increase, instead of forcing Lansing to make roads a high priority in its existing budget.”

McMillin said he would be willing to debate Governor Snyder any day, any time, any place in Michigan.